Inbee Park Chases Her Own 'Tiger' Slam

Updated July 31, 2013 7:14 p.m. ET

Golfer Inbee Park takes her shot at history Thursday when she tees off at the Ricoh Women's British Open. Park will be attempting to win her fourth major of the year.

The feat would make the 25-year-old Park the first woman to win four majors in a single calendar year, but it won't quite be a Grand Slam. That's because the LPGA declared the Sept. 12-15 Evian Masters a fifth major, so Park will still have plenty of work remaining even if she prevails this weekend at St. Andrews.

ENLARGE

Still, possessing four major trophies at once is nothing to sneeze at. It brings to mind Tiger Woods's "Tiger Slam" of 2000-01. Woods, who was then the same age as Park is now, won the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, the PGA Championship and the Masters in succession during arguably the best 12 months of his career.

So who's been more dominating—Woods in 2000-01 or Park over the past 12 months?

From May 2000 through April 2001, Woods played in 26 events, won 12, had 22 top-10 finishes, and didn't miss a cut. His average finish in the 22 events that included full fields of the world's top golfers was 4.8. Include his three firsts and one second-place finish in his end-of-the-year junkets with limited or less-than-sterling fields, and his average finish was 4.2.

In 26 starts over the past 12 months, Park has eight wins and 15 top-10 finishes, though she has missed a cut. Her average finish in those tournaments is 11.6, which includes her 62nd-place finish at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, site of her lone missed cut.

Also, Park has pocketed a cool $4 million the past year, a nice sum, though not quite the $10.88 million Woods collected during his run in the much more lucrative men's game.

—Matthew Futterman

TALE OF THE TAPE

How Inbee Park's current 12-month stretch compares with Tiger Woods in 2000-01.

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